The night air was crisp as Chris stepped onto the balcony, overlooking the vast lands of the empire he had built. The torches lining the castle walls flickered against the darkness, their glow casting long shadows over the courtyard below.
Footsteps approached. He didn't turn—he already knew who it was.
"You're really going to stay out of it?" Skylar's voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it.
Chris exhaled, his hands resting on the stone railing. "That was the deal. I don't rule anymore. Ethan does."
Skylar stood beside him, looking out into the distance. "And if he makes a mistake?"
"Then he learns from it." Chris turned to her, his expression unreadable. "That's what being a ruler means."
Skylar studied him for a long moment before sighing. "I just never thought I'd see the day when you'd step into the shadows."
Chris chuckled. "I never really wanted the throne, Skylar. I just took it because I had to. Now, it belongs to Ethan. And Classic will be by his side, making sure he doesn't fall."
Skylar nodded slowly, but there was still something lingering in her gaze. "And Christiana?"
Chris's expression darkened slightly. "She will do what she must. She's the enforcer. The one who ensures stability. Ethan knows that."
"And if she oversteps?"
Chris's smirk returned. "Then I'll remind her who truly holds the balance."
Silence stretched between them. It was strange—the two of them standing here, not as rulers, not as enemies, but as two people who had fought, bled, and sacrificed for an empire that now rested in another's hands.
"So what now?" Skylar finally asked.
Chris turned back to the night sky. "Now? We watch. We guide from the distance. And if the world ever dares to challenge what we built..." He exhaled slowly, his eyes dark and knowing.
"Then they will remember why I was once called a God."